. >>> more discussions are planned or capitol hill today in an effort to avoid that dreaded "fiscal cliff." the treasury secretary tim geithner and another man will visit separately with house and senate leaders to find common ground on how to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts beginning in january. >>> president obama will have lunch in just a few hours with mitt romney. it will be the first time they have met face to face since the final debate shortly before this month's election. the event will be held at the white house. it is private, no aides present, no media, just the president and the former gop nominee. they will hash it out. >> should be interesting. >> maybe he will bring mitt into the fold. who knows. >> we'll see. >>> just from the labor department the number of americans filing first time unemployment claims fell last week. the decline comes as impact of superstorm sandy eases a bit. this morning, stock futures are moving higher on encouraging news from washington on the "fiscal cliff" issue. ashley morrison of cbsmoneywatch.com joins us. good morning, ashle